Joey Logano won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, but as he was celebrating, the attention quickly shifted from the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion to the scenes on pit road, where Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar were engaged in a good old-fashioned brawl.
Blaney was upset with Hocevar over an incident in the race’s final stage, in where the two were battling for second place, made contact off Turn 4, and the No. 12 Wabash Ford Mustang Dark Horse crashed hard into the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier, ending his night – and maybe his title hopes.
So, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion waited for the race to finish, approached the third-place finish on pit road and went to have a conversation, coming in a little heated, and delivering a shove to the chest of Hocevar… and from there, things erupted.
After a bit of shoving, Hocevar threw the first punch (and landed it, knocking the hat off of Blaney’s head), and before the Team Penske driver could fight back, the 23-year-old had thrown multiple punches, and the crew members got involved, knocking Blaney to the ground.
Blaney wasn’t done, though, running back towards Hocevar, weaving through a crowd of people to try and tackle the Spire Motorsports driver near his car, but was restrained and pulled away before much more of a confrontation could happen.
This is a developing story. Quotes from Hocevar and Blaney will be added as they become available.
